Chapter 196
Out of the market, Theos saw rows of stables set up along the road. They were no longer as shabby and dirty as when he first saw them.
Theos had a good impression of the old coachman, so he wanted to ride in his carriage. He started shouting, "Sorikos! Sorikos! … "
"The old man is rich now, so he doesn't drive himself anymore. Ride in my carriage!" someone shouted.
"Don't talk nonsense, or I'll beat you up!" Sorikos scolded jokingly.
Dios got into his carriage and told him where he wanted to go.
"Oh, you're also going to see the land for rent, right?! Quite a lot of people have been there recently! "Sorikos said immediately.
Theos nodded and smiled. "I heard you've made a fortune?"
"Don't listen to them. I've just paid off the loan and interest on the carriage. I've bought another carriage and rented it to a freedman. I believe I'll be able to pay off the loan again soon! Then I'll buy another carriage … Sorikos said confidently.
"Congratulations!" Theos praised. "I think you'll be a carriage merchant in another year."
Sorikos laughed when he heard this.
"I remember you're a citizen of Diónia. The Alliance should have given you a share of land. You're out driving carriages to earn money, but what about the land? I heard that the Alliance has an agricultural officer who supervises the citizens' use of land, "Theos asked curiously.
"I've rented it to a freedman to farm. There won't be any problems," Sorikos replied.
He drove the carriage onto the road from Turií to Amendola. The carriage sped along the Sibari Plain. The road was crisscrossed on both sides, and many houses had been built among the farmlands.
Very soon, the villages would be built! Theos thought to himself, New Turií is developing very quickly. It's already beginning to regain its former prosperity, and it's very different from before. It might even surpass the powerful Greece of the past!
After the carriage crossed a wooden bridge over the Sibari River, it passed by grape plantations and wineries. This was the famous wine producing area of Greece.
After crossing the Saraceno, they entered the territory of Amendolara. The land for rent was on the side of the road, already divided into lots by sticks. It was near the main road, which made it easy to transport; near the river, which made it easy to supply the workshops with water; near the forest, where trees could be felled (of course, the League of Diónia had strict rules about felling trees). In addition, after building the workshop on the rented land, he could also build a house for himself and his employees to live in. This would give him a place to rest while he was doing business in Diónia. There was a sea in front, a forest at the back, a river at the side, and a main road to facilitate travel. It was also an ideal place to live! It was believed that every foreign businessman who wanted to rent land here had the idea of building a workshop and a residence at the same time. Twenty years was enough for them to earn back the money they invested. Of course, the premise was that the Diónia Alliance still existed.
After Dios had his eyes on a few ideal plots of land, because the so-called "auction" would be held tomorrow, he wanted to find a hotel to stay in first.
At this time, Sorius suggested, "Today you came at the right time. The arena in Turií was just built yesterday. In order to celebrate, the Consul Devers announced, 'Today and tomorrow, there will be a rugby match between the four cities in the arena!' If you have time in the afternoon, you can go and watch it. I heard it's very exciting, even more exciting than the Olympia! "
"Rugby match?" Dios was curious and confused.
"That's a game invented by the Consul Devers. I heard that it was a divine revelation from Pluto!" Sorius said mysteriously.
"It's … it's … two teams fight for a ball made of cowhide shaped like an olive … Hmm … Then they score points … Oh, I don't know. Anyway, people who have seen the game say it's very interesting and very exciting! You'll know when you see it. "
"Okay, I'll go and have a look." Sorius' strong recommendation piqued Dios' interest.
"Go earlier in the afternoon because there are a lot of people. I heard that if you go late, you won't be able to enter!" Sorius kindly reminded.
… …
The arena was located in the east of the northern city of Turín. It was very close to the city's pier and far from the main city area. It was built here with the consideration of not affecting the daily life of the Turín people.
The city guards, who were usually strict with their checks, were relatively lax today. As long as they were not carrying weapons, they could basically enter after a count. However, those who exceeded the limit were forbidden from entering the city.
Because Dios came early, he was lucky enough to enter the city. While waiting in line to enter the city, he also met a Cretan businessman who was in the olive oil business, Dikboris. He was also here to watch the football game, and he had already watched a game in the morning. He was fascinated by this novel game. In his words, this was the best gift that Pluto had given to the Greeks. No other game could compare to it!
This piqued Dios' interest even more.
When he arrived at the entrance of the arena, there was already a long queue. Although there were many people, they were still orderly under the supervision of teams of soldiers.
At this time, Dicboris asked Dios to reserve a spot. He went to a shop with a "beer" sign and brought out two cans of beer and two bags of dried fruit. He gave half to Dios.
Dios thanked him profusely and asked, "How much?"
Dicboris said, "It's the goddess of fate's arrangement that I can meet you here and watch a rugby match together! If you pay, it means that you don't like to make friends with us Cretans! "
Dios had no choice but to accept it. He had a good impression of Dicboris's forthrightness and liveliness. At the same time, he also noticed that many people ran to buy beer, syrup, and snacks.
Dicboris told him, "Because the game is long, we watch the game under the sun, and it's easy to get thirsty and hungry. In addition, there are many spectators in the arena. If you want to pee, you can't find a place, and this — "He raised the beer can in his hand and smiled mockingly." If you drink it dry, it can be used as a urinal … "
The guards at the entrance of the arena released a group of people into the arena, and after a while, another group was released. When it was Dicboris's turn, it was clear that the arena was not full yet. The guard signaled for them to enter and walk along the passage on his right. There was another passage on the left that they could not enter. It led to the VIP seats. Almost all arenas were designed this way.
The Turií arena was not too big, and the stone benches on the side of the ring could only seat about 4,000 people at most. But in fact, there were more than 4,500 people in the arena, and half of them were free people and foreigners. Like other arenas, its sports field was surrounded by a running track, but inside the running track was a flat rectangular sandy land, divided into many areas by dozens of white lines.
Dicboris patiently explained the rules of the game to Dios and told him why it was called the Four Cities Rugby Match. "The Four Cities are Amendolara, Turií, Niutum, and Laos. According to my friends from Diónia, this game was first used by the Consul Devers as a military training program, starting from the mercenaries who became citizens of Amendolara. Later, when the Turií and Amendolara formed an alliance, they wanted to conduct military training for the Turií citizens and probationary citizens, so they naturally learned this game. Later, they captured Niutum, and the first batch of Lucanian soldiers passed this game to the Lucanians in Niutum. As for Laos, they sent a large number of laborers to build roads, and the Diónia served as supervisors. They taught Laos how to play this game during their breaks to prevent them from slacking off.
Perhaps Laos had just started playing and were not familiar with it, so they didn't seem to cooperate well. That's why they played against Turií in the morning, and the Turií won easily. This afternoon, it's Amendolara versus Niutum. I heard that the difference in strength between the two sides is not big, so it's even more interesting! "
"You know so much!" Dios said with emotion.
"I'm interested in it, so I naturally want to understand it," Diopolit said proudly. "I've been here for a long time, and I've made friends with several citizens of the Diónia Alliance. One of them is even the captain of their so-called legion. He was the one who told me …"
"Why isn't there Castellón?" A voice came from the side.
Dicboris turned his head and saw that some people had gathered around them.
"Maybe it's because they don't have much contact with the citizens of the Alliance, so they don't have the chance to learn …" Dicboris shrugged. "But this morning, I saw some people from Castellón watching the game. I believe that after this four-city competition, the next one will probably be a five-city competition."
"You're right, Cretan. Castellón will definitely participate next year!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"Yes, we'll make a suggestion to the council when we get back!" another person echoed.
Dicboris winked at Dios and whispered, "See, I'm right."
At this time, the brass horn sounded, and the athletes began to enter the stadium.
The players were no longer as shabby as they were when they first played football in the military camp. They all wore soft leather hats that covered their entire heads and necks, and thick jackets made of wool and linen. The jackets were dyed red and blue for easy identification. There were also strange symbols embroidered on the backs of the jackets (they were actually Arabic numerals, as Greek numerals were complicated to write, making it difficult to use) for the referees to identify the players.
When the players from both sides entered the field, a strong, rhythmic drumming sounded.
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